Attention!!! Pro Sports Daily will be down on Wednesday morning from 5:00am - 7:00am eastern time for database maintenance. All Sports Direct Inc. properties will be down during this scheduled outage.
Sorry for any inconvenience that this outage may cause.

If this is your first visit, be sure to
check out the FAQ by clicking the
link above. You may have to register
before you can post: click the register link above to proceed. To start viewing messages,
select the forum that you want to visit from the selection below.

This is the one guy that I wanted before FA began. If our only offensive improvement is Shane Doan.. I'll be happy.

#3in5

<3

^ How I feel about the Colts right about now ^

“When I was released, a lot of my friends were like, ‘I guess you are probably going to go to the Patriots to play with Tom Brady,’ and I'm like 'you all must not know about that kid down in Indy.’” Andre Johnson said of Andrew Luck

“When I was released, a lot of my friends were like, ‘I guess you are probably going to go to the Patriots to play with Tom Brady,’ and I'm like 'you all must not know about that kid down in Indy.’” Andre Johnson said of Andrew Luck

It would be great to get a quaility player/person like Doan on the team. I'm originally from Winnipeg and remember him being on the Jets briefly (before they moved to Phoenix). I hope Gillis can pull this off. So, if he becomes a Canuck, does he play on the 1st line with the Sedins? Or the 2nd line with Booth and (whoever until Kesler gets back)?

It would be great to get a quaility player/person like Doan on the team. I'm originally from Winnipeg and remember him being on the Jets briefly (before they moved to Phoenix). I hope Gillis can pull this off. So, if he becomes a Canuck, does he play on the 1st line with the Sedins? Or the 2nd line with Booth and (whoever until Kesler gets back)?

I'd go 2nd line... but I'm sure he'll be moved to the 1st line very often.

#3in5

<3

^ How I feel about the Colts right about now ^

“When I was released, a lot of my friends were like, ‘I guess you are probably going to go to the Patriots to play with Tom Brady,’ and I'm like 'you all must not know about that kid down in Indy.’” Andre Johnson said of Andrew Luck

Trying not to get my hopes up too much on this one. Doan could re-sign with the Coyotes (his preference I'm sure), but the team's ownership is in a bit of disaray these days I guess. Then he's got a list of teams he would go to, one including the Canucks. Great that he's familiair with Gillman and his wife is from BC. Is that enough for him to want to play here?

He knows that he only has 3-4 years left and he also knows the Sedins will be under contract for the next few years. This is the perfect window for him.

As for all the BC connections... we all thought that would bring us Justin Schultz but that didn't work out too well.

#3in5

<3

^ How I feel about the Colts right about now ^

“When I was released, a lot of my friends were like, ‘I guess you are probably going to go to the Patriots to play with Tom Brady,’ and I'm like 'you all must not know about that kid down in Indy.’” Andre Johnson said of Andrew Luck

The Canucks have more than a passing interest in pursuing free agent forward Shane Doan.

Unfortunately for them, they're not alone.

Eleven teams are said to be making a push for the 35-year-old, chasing his skill, edge and that laundry list of intangibles. But in making the media rounds Monday, Doan's agent, Terry Bross, told reporters only 2-3 teams would warrant serious interest. He said location, management, players and Cup chances will all be factors.,

The Canucks got in line early, putting in a personal call to Doan on July 1, to express their interest. The feeling was mutual Doan told them, which would logically put the Canucks among those 2-3 teams. The sides touched base again on Monday, Doan's personalized start to free agency when his agent, Bross, officially started taking calls.

And you can understand it from both sides. The Canucks need to go all-in now to try to win a Stanley Cup. Doan is the type of player they've longed for. He's a legit power forward and a heavy forechecker, who would give their lineup size and toughness, a void exposed in both the Stanley Cup final and this year's first round.

This is a team that's been trying to sell Ryan Kesler and David Booth as its power forwards, so there's a fairly substantial need to change the dynamic. Something that became more pressing in the second half of this past season when the way the game was called obviously changed.

The Canucks need to get bigger. It's why they went out and got Zack Kassian. It's why they drafted nothing but size in Pittsburgh. But these lineup fixes are going to take years to have an impact. Doan, a durable 230-pound top-six, two-way winger good for 20 goals, bridges that gap. He would make what is still a small, skilled lineup and make it much tougher to play against.

From Doan's perspective, there's more here than just a team with a chance to win. He has roots in British Columbia. His wife, Andrea, is from Kamloops. He met her there while playing junior hockey. He still spends time in Kamploops during the offseason, even hosting a charity golf tournament. He's part owner of the WHL, the Kamloops Blazers.

All of it would be a nice story, but even though the Canucks have lots of checkmarks beside Doan's "factors," it's still unclear whether it will matter when his agent starts fielding actual offers, which is expected to happen as soon as tomorrow.

With so many teams interested, and some of them desperate, it's not unthinkable that Doan, coming off an improbable playoff run, could get options four or five years long, in the $5 million-to-$6 million per year range.

Will that change those factors?

Whether he's worth, that type of financial commitment is a fair debate. His 50 points this season were his lowest in a decade. He did follow that up with an impressive post-season, and has scored nine goals in his past 23 playoff games. For comparison, Kesler has 10 in 53 games.

Will the Canucks offer more than 2-3 years for a player who will turn 36 in October? When Sami Salo signed in Tampa Bay, GM Mike Gillis expressed a reluctance to commit multi-year contracts to players who are 35 and older. There's too much risk, Gillis explained. If, for example the player retires his cap hit still counts.

But it's absurd to compare Salo to Doan, who has just missed a handful of games in the past three years because of injuries.

On Monday, Bross, Doan's agent, took calls to survey the field. It includes some powerhouses, like the Pittsburgh Penguins, New York Rangers, L.A Kings and Detroit Red Wings, who have already struck out a couple of times since the season ended.

The Canucks may have an ace up their sleeve. At least, they have a pretty good in. Laurence Gilman, the Canucks assistant general manager, has a personal relationship with Doan established during his 13 years with the Phoenix Coyotes/Winnipeg Jets organization.

"I've known Shane since he was 19 years old and I have a lot of respect for him," Gilman said. "We've definitely stayed in touch over the years."

If that relationship does end up helping the Canucks sign Doan, they will be facing another daunting question.

“When I was released, a lot of my friends were like, ‘I guess you are probably going to go to the Patriots to play with Tom Brady,’ and I'm like 'you all must not know about that kid down in Indy.’” Andre Johnson said of Andrew Luck

If Gillis screws this one up due to unwillingness of giving a guy a 4-5 year deal because he is 35, I will punch Gillis in the face. And furthermore, if he decides Raymond is a reason we don't need Doan, I will punch him twice as hard. We need Doan. Doan needs to come to us. I will not get my hopes up, but it would be amazing if he came to this team.

It would seem like the Canucks have the best chance (unless Doan really wants to play in NYC or with Crosby and Malkin in Pittsburgh - but I hear the Pens are going after Semin. Detroit is on the downward spiral I think, an old team who lost (or will lose) Lidstrom, Stuart, Holmstrom and Hudler. The Kings might be the one team that beats out the Canucks to get Doan. But what are the chances that the Kings will repeat? Teams just dont do that like they used to in the 80s with the Islanders and Oilers dynasties. It's rare anyway. The timing is perfect if we get Doan, the Sedins are getting older and could slowly be declining over the next several years. Doan is an older player too, and his time is running out to win a Cup. The stars seem to be aligning, Doan played in Kamloops, met his wife there, has close ties with Gillman, wants a good place for his family to live and to play on a contender. That screams Canucks. Doan's an outdoorsy kind of guy too, and what better place to live than BC? He'd be crazy not to sign here.

I also forgot to add that Doan is co-owner of the Kamloops Blazers and with LA, there may still be bad-blood with Brown, who took a cheap shot at him in the playoffs. Besides, is LA a place he wants to relocate his family?

I didn't feel good about the Canucks chances as recent as yesterday, but after doing a bit of reading (his agent's and Gillman's Tweets etc), it seems more of a possibility that he'll sign with the Canucks. Really hoping so anyway. The owners are pushing hard for it. The Canucks need his leadership, his physical ability, his experience.

of course Kesler will be out until late November/early December. What do they do to fill that void until he returns? If Gillis can pull off getting Doan here and if he can also acquire a top 9 centre and a quality backup goaltender, maybe in a trade with Lu - he'll be my hero.

Wow, I wish I could be as excited as you guys for Shane Doan. I like him, I think he would add a great veteran presence to our team ala Mats Sundin, but he's coming off his worst season in 10 years and has slowed down a lot.